Groupware and Online Collaboration: Collaboration Series #4

This article is the fourth of a series of articles exploring specific aspects of groupware. The brief informational articles in this series discuss some of the technologies associated with groupware, as well as some of the characteristics of groupware. Some of these characteristics may go hand in hand with business collaborative needs. Other characteristics go beyond what some groupware providers have to offer. The purpose of these articles is to equip the groupware user or investigator with helpful knowledge about the product in order to enable more effective use or to lead the investigator to the groupware service he or she is looking for. This fourth article explores the ability of groupware to facilitate online collaboration.

Online Collaboration

Online collaboration consists of sending emails back and forth to edit and review attached documents, like market reports, budgets, contracts, and press releases. Most businesses go through this process very regularly with departments, clients, investors, and strategic partners.

In today's fast-paced business world, businesses are constantly under deadlines, working tirelessly for their business and client needs. The challenge is in keeping up with all of the online collaboration going on. After all, online collaboration has become an ad hoc process, and document versions get saved in multiple email boxes and on multiple hard drives. When it comes time to merge document changes and create a final draft, many questions are left unanswered.

The market has recognized the need for groupware, or online collaboration software, to manage and track document changes. Using the right groupware will even enable businesses to manage ad hoc online collaboration, tracking all of the documents versions across multiple emails, hard drives, and servers. The who, what, when, where, and how are all answered, and businesses will have an organizational edge in the high-speed information age of business.

Online Collaboration Tools with Groupware

5,200,000 indexed pages are found under "groupware" in Google; 4,840,000 in Yahoo; and 955,263 in MSN Search. In order to find groupware for your business online collaboration needs, you need to be equipped with the knowledge of the tools your business needs in its groupware.

Digital Thread technology takes groupware to a whole new level and is the means of tracking document versions across emails, hard drives, and servers. Digital Thread literally threads the document versions together by tagging the metadata of an electronic document, so that no matter to whom it is sent or what changes are made, the data comes back to you. It creates digital signatures in your email, informing you whether you are opening the latest version of the document, and who saved it. As the process becomes more involved, and drafts have been sent back and forth between multiple reviewers multiple times, you'll be able to access a version history. Version history is compiled by Digital Thread technology and provides a visual display of the genealogy of the document, from first draft to last. This also makes it possible to merge the changes as the final draft is compiled.

Groupware that can manage online collaboration and go beyond a simple electronic draft filing system to work the way 21st century businesses work.

Joe Miller is an online advertiser and author of informational articles on business software. More information on online advertiser or online advertiser is available at NextPage.com.

recurring cleaning service Mundelein ..
In The News:

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.
Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.
Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.
Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.
Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.
Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.
Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.
iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.
Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.
FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.
Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.
Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.
Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.
Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.
Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.
New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.
FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.
New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.
OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.
Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.
New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

What To Do When Windows Wont Boot

When Windows fails to boot it is normally caused by... Read More

Things You Can Do With Windows XP!

Did you ever give a thought to the number of... Read More

MSN Messenger Is A Sweet Way To Communicate

MSN messenger is a pretty cool invention. I mean I'm... Read More

Free Software: How Not To Get More Than You Bargained For!

I completed an experiment recently. I wanted to find out... Read More

Linux vs Windows Operating Systems

With so many Microsoft Windows related viruses, errors, and other... Read More

eStore Advantage ? Extending Microsoft eConnect for MBS Great Plains

eStore Advantage allows front-office applications to communicate with back-office business... Read More

The Top 5 Wrong Reasons For Not Hiring Testers

Considering whether or not your software company should hire a... Read More

Freight Forwarding ERP: Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains customization & setup ? overview

Microsoft Great Plains may be recommended for international freight forwarding... Read More

DB Integration - Software for Combine MS Access Databases

Our company, Novaprof Inc., developed unique software - DB Integration.... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Implementation: Verticals - Wholesale Order Entry center ? overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has substantial market share and... Read More

Software Engineering: An Introduction

Software Engineering is the Systematic Approach for analysis design implementation... Read More

C++ Tutorial 1, Introduction to C++

Introduction to C++Why Learn C++?C++ may at first seem like... Read More

Software Tools To Help Your Business Sell More

Sales are all about leverage, because there is only so... Read More

Accessing XML Using Java Technologies

The most important benefit of XML is its simplicity. Though... Read More

Groove Network. Are you in it?

If you are in a business that passes documents around... Read More

Microsoft CRM Custom Design & Development: SDK, C#, SQL, Exchange, Integration, Crystal Reports

Microsoft CRM is new player on the CRM software... Read More

Great Plains Sales Order Processing and Invoicing Modules ? Tips For Consultants

We'll give you non formal view, based on our consulting... Read More

Business Planning Software

Once a business idea is selected, it is highly recommended... Read More

Story Development Software: Good or Evil?

In the early days of the personal computer, we're talking... Read More

Integrating Microsoft Great Plains Accounting/ERP: RMS, CRM, eCommerce, Lotus Domino ? overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has substantial market share among... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Customization: Project Organization ? International Business Example

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains fits to majority of horizontal... Read More

Adware and Spyware

What is 'adware'?Adware is basically software or scripts that are... Read More

Microsoft Navision and Crystal Reports - An Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions ? Navision is an integrated solution for... Read More

Review of TikiWiki Content Management System

TikiWiki is open source software - it is written in... Read More

Industry Experts Answer the One Million-dollar Question - Why Genie Backup Manager?

Many reasons made GBM a unanimous choice for experts, one... Read More

tidy up service Buffalo Grove ..